So who exactly were those supposedly impartial economists attacking the Government yesterday?

By Jonathan Isaby
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Yesterday the Observer splashed with the headline "George Osborne plan isn't working, say top UK economists" on the back of a letter attacking the Government's strategy for cutting the deficit. 

Today the Labour ginger group Compass is trumpeting the fact that it co-ordinated the letter and further delving into the background of the signatories reveals that a large number of the signatories are either not economists or partisan Lefties - or both...

Here's a bit more background on some of these supposed impartial expert economists...

• Prof Richard Grayson, Professor of History at Goldsmiths - Not an economist; rather he supervises in twentieth century British and Irish history, with particular interests in the First World War, Northern Ireland’s Troubles and inter-war politics.
• Ian O’Shea, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of East London - Not an economist; but an expert in Cultural Studies, which is defined here.
• Henning Meyer, senior visiting fellow, LSE Global Governance - Not an economist; he holds qualifications in Comparative Politics and British and European Politics and Government.
• Howard Reed, director, Landman Economics - A Lefty, who was formerly Chief Economist at the IPPR.
• Prof Geoffrey M Hodgson, University of Hertfordshire Business School - A Lefty who, on his website under the heading ‘On Socialism’ states :"I favour a mixed economy with state intervention, including fiscal redistributory measures and a strong welfare state. In such a system, markets and other commodity exchanges exist alongside elements of organisation and planning"
• Professor David Marquand, Oxford University - Not an economist and a Lefty, former Labour MP that he is.
• Pat Devine, University of Manchester - Not an economist. but a "chartered environmental psychologist".
• Professor Jonathan Rutherford Middlesex University - Not an economist and a Lefty, this Professor of Cultural Studies has co-authored a political article on a Labour blog with Labour MP Jon Cruddas.
• Professor Natalie Fenton, Goldsmiths, University of London - Not an economist, but a Professor of Media and Communications.
• Professor Stefano Harney, Queen Mary, University of London - Not an economist, but the Chair of Strategy, Culture and Society at Queen Mary, where he is "an expert on business ethics, corporate governance, and responsible management education".
• Andrew Watt, Senior Researcher, European Trade Union Institute - A Lefty, who edits the ETUI Policy Brief on economic and employment policy and coordinates the European Labour Network for Economic Policy.
• Professor Gregor Gall, University of Hertfordshire - A Lefty whose research concerns "the collective mobilisation of workers, primarily in their workplaces, in order to prosecute their collective interests. This has led my research to focus on union organising, industrial action and union recognition".
• Prof George Irvin, Univ of London, SOAS - A Lefty, who co-authored a Compass pamphlet call for tax increases to close the deficit. 
• Dr Gregory Schwartz, University of Bath - Not an economist, but a Lecturer in Organization Studies with interests "in the disciplinary domain of sociology of work and organisation".
• Professor David Knights, Bristol Business School - Not an economist, but covers Ethics, Gender and Diversity Studies, Financialization, IT and Innovation.
• Professor Alison Pullen, Swansea University - Not an economist, but a Reader is Organization Studies. 
• Dr. Olivier Ratle, University of the West of England, Bristol - Not an economist, but locates himself "within the fields of Organization studies and Science and technology studies".
• Dr Damian O'Doherty, University of Manchester - Not an economist, but has "written and published in the areas of human resource management, organization theory, and labour process analysis".
• Professor Adrian Sinfield, University of Edinburgh - Not an economist, but an Emeritus Professor of Social Policy.
• Professor Stephen Linstead, University of York - Not an economist, but a Professor of Critical Management who holds a Masters degrees in English Literature.
• Professor Simon Lilley, University of Leicester - Not n economist but Head of the university's School of Management.
• Professor Andy Danford, Bristol Business School - Not an economist, but a Professor of Employment Relations.
• Professor Diane Elson, University of Essex - Not an economist, but a Professor in the Sociology department whose current research and teaching interests are "in global social change and the realisation of human rights with a particular focus on gender inequality and economic and social rights".
• Stuart White, Jesus College, Oxford University - Not an economist, but a Tutor in Politics and also a Lefty who is a Labour Party adviser and contributor to LabourList.
• Colin Crouch, University of Warwick - Not an economist, but a Professor in Governance & Public Management.
• Ian Gough, Emeritus Professor, University of Bath - Not an economist, but a Professor of Social Policy.
• David Donald, Glasgow Caledonian University - Not an economist, but a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Government".